Monthly Archives: July 2021

Yo, I’m Broke

Fun fact: I’m not making any money! Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because that’s not why I do what I do. I’m not writing, speaking, and ministering to make a quick buck (and God help me if I ever do it for that reason). My work is intended for an eternal gain, not a material one. But that doesn’t change the reality that you need to make a living in order to live. Especially for handicapped living. It’s expensive, people! And that’s why it’s so intimidating that I’m currently taking in next to zero income.

My lack of revenue and a viable salary has certainly played a role in the impatience, fear, and discouragement that I have recently written about. Which is pretty sad, because it reveals that I am trusting in money far more than I should. I’m not proud of this, but I’m not really surprised. Who of us hasn’t struggled with the worship of mammon at some point or another?

Riches are so easy for us to trust in. Money gets stuff done! And we’ve got stuff to do! It doesn’t take much for greed to slowly begin to control you. The search for immediate gratification and satisfaction of your goals breeds the behavior with ease. Are these not our natural tendencies? Of course they are! Otherwise Christ would not have shared these words in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

We can only serve one master. Jesus makes it clear that the godless world’s preferred master is its money. Without a sovereign authority to trust in what else could drive you but the currency everything operates under? Logically speaking, nothing. Yet we know greed is fundamentally wrong, so we hope for an alternative. The only way to find one is through a supernatural means. In a deity that is pleased to meet our needs. We find it in the almighty King of kings!

In Luke 4:4 Jesus also reminds us, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” This is a great comfort because that means we don’t have to be consumed by attaining material substance in order to live through life. We can be certain that relying on the words of God and trusting Him to be our supplier will always lead to our needs being met. He undoubtedly meets the needs of the rest of His creation; Is it too much of a stretch to believe He’ll do the same for us? (Matthew 6:26)

I wholeheartedly believe He’ll do it! So yeah, I’m broke. I barely have a dollar to my name. And so what?! Maybe it’s better this way. All that I have has been granted to me by another anyways. I’ll gladly let Him handle the means of my sustenance. The only thing the gracious lender asks of me is to be faithful with what I have. To multiply His kingdom by attributing all to Him and spreading the wealth of His goodness!

In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Jesus actually addresses those who use what they have to multiply the Kingdom of God in this way, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” I must assume that this promise still applies when I have what seems to be virtually nothing. I say virtually because in reality, I actually have more than enough. Which, as the Lord meant to convey, puts me in the exact same category as the story’s servants. And while I do my best to be faithful with my little bit of a lot, I continually find the promise to ring true!

If we allow God to use us to accomplish His will, He will continually use us to accomplish even more. Then we will enter into the joy of our Lord! And only then will we truly be rich. By faith, continue in faithfulness, regardless of the material the work may produce.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” – Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” – Philippians‬ ‭4:19-20‬

Discourage Your Discouragement

In my latest post, Silence The Fear, I discussed how to overcome our greatest fears by looking instead to Jesus, our only great Hope. I’d like to expand on that idea this week by identifying a specific root-cause of most fear.

This major behavior that usually feeds the fears we all face is listening closely to and believing the voice of discouragement. And I find that the source of discouragement’s voice is more often than not some form of comparison. Among other things, you can compare yourself to people, compare your circumstances, and compare lifestyles. Each of these comparisons will only leave you discouraged, eventually filling you with fear. Comparison, discouragement, and fear are basically a crime syndicate of joy thieves working to steal our confidence!

I think to these words penned in Psalm 42, verse 11: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” Why does my soul get cast down? Because I feel discouraged. Why am I disquieted by these discouragements? Because I am drawn to comparing myself to others. And the comparison game is not one to be won.

I could give you a list of who and what I compare myself to, but it would do us no good. It could only lead me down the path of discouragement that was never meant for me. And it could only tempt you to make your own comparisons too. So that’s not what we’ll do. We’ll instead turn our gaze to a better place. Set our eyes on the one who says we’re enough!

Look to the Father, the Spirit, the Son! See the Godhead three in one! He is our Hope. He is our Help. He is Home. He is our God. Hope in your God; give Him your praise! He loves you as you are and only wants a heart change. The calming of your soul exists in this phrase. So be who you are, but be renewed where you must. We can all be content, for He made each of us.

Take joy in your uniqueness today and all fear will run away. Discourage your discouragement by knowing for whom you were made. Kill your comparisons by giving thanks for your existence in grace.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” – Psalm ‭3:3‬

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” – Psalm 139:14‬

Silence The Fear

I must admit that I have some naggingly daunting fears. Fears that are horrifying because they threaten my deepest desires. Fears that are related to circumstances that are entirely out of my control. More than anything else, I’m afraid Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy will keep me from experiencing some of the greatest parts of life. The parts of life that I have been looking forward to for as long as I can remember.

What am I afraid of? A fair amount of things. Things related to knowing that this phase of my life is different than it is for most. Largely the potential that what I see my friends and peers experiencing will escape me. The older I get, the more these fears seem to speak to me. I know life is short and the clock’s always running. Will the time run out before I meet certain desires?

I fear that I may not become a husband. I fear that I may not become a father. Two things that I have always longed to be. When I was a kid I never had an answer to what I wanted to be when I grew up. And as of late, I’ve realized that it’s always been to fulfill these roles. But that wasn’t the right answer to the question. Those aren’t professions, so I didn’t give a response. Interestingly enough these are the exact positions God created man for. The Lover creating lovers. The Father creating parents.

Why do I fear that these interests will elude me? Because the reality is that DMD lessens the odds and increases the difficulties of such opportunities. Believe me, I am submitted to the Lord’s will if He does not have these things in store for me. Nor am I in a hurry to experience them. It’s just that I don’t want them to be missed due to muscular dystrophy. My humanity tells me that that’s the only reason such a withholding could be. That’s plain scary!

I know it’s not true, but it still makes me shudder all the way through. Missing out has unceasingly driven my doubts. It often cripples my confidence and melts my motivation. Is it even possible? Is it worth the disappointment of my failed attempts? And even if I pull these pursuits off by God’s grace, will I have made lives worse in the process? If I become a husband, if I become a father, I fear that I may do a great detriment to my loved ones.

That’s also not true. I know my hardships have only ever caused me to do what I need to do. Every seeming loss for my family would be made up for with the extending of love. But that fearful prospect, it lingers still. And of course it does, for the fall, sin, and death have left life incomplete. Our hearts and our souls wonder how much more havoc they can wreak. The same for you as it is for me.

Moreover, these fears I’ve discussed aren’t the only I face. I fear I may not be successful because I am physically limited in what success means. I must invent and receive new ways to succeed. I fear I will not meet the needs that I was made to meet because I am more often than not the one who’s in need. I fear that I may forget to worship my God as I endure the turmoils of this life. Faith is a battle that’s so hard to fight! And if I survive it all, I fear that I may not be healed until my heavenly call.

Yet, amidst every terror that crosses my mind the Lord is there to meet me with these words from John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He’s calling me to trust Him. To trust Him and His peace. To silence the fear by drawing near to my great Hope. That is where I’ll be set free. Come silence the fear with me!

While considering these fears the following lyrics from the song Fear Is a Liar by Zach Williams have been echoing through my mind lately: “Cast your fear in the fire, ‘Cause fear he is a liar.” I want to cast all fear in the fire because it is indeed a liar.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – II Timothy‬ ‭1:7‬

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” – Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬

“The thing that will secure you in the days to come is not knowledge of the future, but knowledge of and trust in the One who holds you and every aspect of the future in his hands.” – Paul Tripp